Seward Highway to Glenn Highway Connection

The Seward Highway to Glenn Highway Connection is a proposed road in Anchorage, Alaska. If constructed, it will connect the Seward Highway] and the Glenn Highway, the most used highways in the state and Anchorage's only road access points to the rest of the state.

These two highways are currently connected by a network of arterial roads that, during typical rush hours, reach or overflow their capacity. According to the Municipality of Anchorage, “congestion on the Glenn Highway has worsened steadily as the Mat-Su Borough and Chugiak-Eagle River have claimed larger shares of regional growth” [Municipality of Anchorage "2025 Long Range Transportation Plan with 2027 Revisions", 3] than has the City of Anchorage. On the other side of Anchorage, the southern neighborhood known as the Hillside is also expanding. Many Hillside and Southside residents commute to jobs in the mid- and downtown portions of Anchorage and use the Seward Highway for their daily commute. These growing “bedroom communities” on both the northeast and south sides of the City of Anchorage will only increase the traffic using these arterial connections on a daily basis, increasing the likelihood of congestion if existing infrastructure is not improved or traffic patterns revised.

Project

The Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities, in cooperation with the Municipality of Anchorage, initiated the Seward Highway to Glenn Highway Connection (H2H) project as the latest phase of transportation planning to reduce congestion and traffic impacts on small urban neighborhoods. The project, as it moves beyond the planning stages, will use a combination of municipal, state, and federal funds, and will comply with all regulations governing use of those funds, including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

NEPA Process

All projects receiving federal funding must comply with NEPA requirements. The Seward Highway to Glenn Highway Connection is currently in the scoping stage of project development. During the scoping process, the project team will collect input from the various individuals, community groups, and government agencies that will be incorporated into an Environmental Impact Statement. This statement will outline any potential project impacts, not only on the natural environment, but on the neighborhoods, ethnic groups, and income-groups within the project area.

References

External links

* [http://www.highway2highway.com Seward Highway to Glenn Highway Connection (H2H)]